My dear sweet Ella.
As many of you know, Ella has been having some "not so great" health the last few months. It all started a few months ago when a rash appeared across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. With that came complaints of aches and pains. Lots of aches and pains. Add to that, randomly appearing rashes that itch and irritate. All the while she started complaining of stomach aches and fatigue. The worse part was her change in personality. She has been struggling (to say the least) with her emotions. Lots of tears, meltdowns, and general moodiness. She is also tired a lot and just not her spunky self.
We tried to chalk a lot of this up to life changes. Ella started Kindergarten this year and that can be a lot on anyone. But, we just couldn't believe that was all there was to it. After all, she seems to love school and is doing very well. So, we started the "Tour de la Doctors".
Her pediatrician ran a huge batch of test, including a full screen blood test. Everything came back fine. Then we started with the dermatologist. He treated her with steroid cream for 3 weeks, that didn't do anything. So now she will be seeing a rheumatologist in February. Until then, her dr. put her on a strict no-dairy diet. We're going to see if a little Lactose-intolerance is to blame for some of this.
On the bright side, Ella is still growing strong. She is loving school and she is still my sweet, snuggly cuddle bunny. We just need to keep finding her strengths and encouraging her to be strong and grown-up and she'll do just fine!
Please keep Ella in your prayers, and maybe us too, as we have to live with her! : )
